Libya, racism, imperialism and humanitarian interventionism

Two videos on the theme of humanitarian intervention have come out recently. Professor Maximilian Forte of Montreal has produced a film: LIBYA: Race, Empire, and the Invention of Humanitarian Emergency unveiling the racism lying behind humanitarian interventionism. Well worth watching and disseminating.

This documentary is a taster for his latest book, Slouching Towards Sirte: NATO’s War On Libya and Africa (Baraka Books, Montreal, 2012):

LIBYA: Race, Empire, and the Invention of Humanitarian Emergency from Maximilian Forte on Vimeo.

Also on the subject of humanitarian intervention here is a recent speech by Glenn Greenwald in which he eloquently and bravely (whilst struggling with terrible feedback from his microphone) explains how

1) almost all wars have been sold as “humanitarian interventions,” and that

2) there are almost always some locals who can be pointed to as willing beneficiaries of military intervention and that

3) there is usually a grain of truth in the arguments of the humanitarian interventionist that the people to be liberated are suffering some kind of oppression.

These facts make it even more important that genuine peace activists and genuine human rights activists are alert not get sucked in to supporting militarism and war by the war monger in humanitarian interventionist clothing: